Nasorin wrote:
Why do you play?
It's not the levels. It is the illusion of immersion in the world of Norrath that this last action finally destroyed for me.
In a roleplaying world, our characters should be determined by the choices they (we) make. The game world should (and once upon a time long, long ago, did) reinforce that. So, à titre d'exemple:
Licinia is born as an agnostic human enchanter from Qeynos. As a human, she has lower INT and CHA compared to an Erudite or Koada'dal, and lower INT (but higher CHA) than a Tier'dal, the only races at the time that could be enchanters. She also is the only one who cannot see in the dark. The libraries in Qeynos are poor. As an agnostic human, however, she is not KOS in all but Oggok and Cabilis, so she can faction easily enough to earn the trust of the Koada'dal, the children of Erud, and even the Tier'dal. As a roleplayer, I did all three, and came up with roleplaying reasons and background to do so. She even eventually became accepted in Cabilis - voila, her background as an envoy or spy. Her limited access to spells is expanded because she can now go to the better libraries in Neriak, Erudin, or Felwithe. Her work is rewarded. She also becomes a researcher (tradeskills).
As a member of the Order of Three, she is aligned against the Bloodsabers. She does many quests for the city authorities and becomes hated by the Bloodsabers, but virtually a hero of Qeynos. She is awarded the Badge of Nobility, which allows her to see invisible and gives her some decent (for the time) stats.
Fast forward a few expansions.
Sony provides a fully-stocked city where travel is instantaneous and faction is irrelevant (Planes of Power). All of a sudden, the
game no longer reinforces the need to faction - so almost no-one does. All the old cities and the zones interconnecting them become ghost towns. All poLicinia's faction work is rendered for naught by the mechanics of the game.
Fast forward a bit more. Now, items become more overpowered. Now, Licinia's past quested rewards, and advantages with merchants, become irrelevant. Also, old enemies are neglected, and the very fact that the character hates Bloodsabers and is dangerously close to the truth behind Kane Bayle is... abandoned by the game.
Hmmn, SOE decides research is too hard for the players demanding quick spell access for their 0-60 progression-in-a-week (no offence, Jet). Enter a new combination system where a researcher with unlimited funds can go to research 244 by purchasing components. The
years that Licinia worked at research, gathering rare pages here and there to get to 221, is surpassed in a day. A slap in the face to the players who worked hard for their tradeskills (I am sure I am not the only one here, this is likely valid for the other tradeskills too!).
Stats become so high that there is no practical difference between races. The gods are trivialized so that there is no practical difference between character choices for deities. New content bears no relation to old content, so there is no practical difference between starting cities. A new race (Drakkin) is created for little other reason to give special toy abilities, and a home town where all progression can be easily spoon fed to the masses - no need to travel, or to earn faction,in order to progress.
Aaaand.... in the guild lobby, the characters we see are no longer even Norrathians - now everyone has silly illusions, silly-looking familiars, and silly-looking mounts. It appears more like a cartoon than a MMORPG world that Norrath used to be. None of the contents we are given bear any relation to
how the characters grew up. None of the choices we made early on in our character creation or progression have
any relevance to the new, "improved" Norrath. Heck, why even call it Norrath, half the zones are on other planes or other planets or other realms of existence....
Of course, none of this is all that new. But what broke the camel's back - for me - is that with the latest introduction of SonyCash, the illusion was finally pierced beyond my ability to suspend disbelief. The game is now all about progression to towards a never-ending goal of the highest level, the latest improved version of the same spells we saw at level 65, and the silliest "bling" you can wear to impress your guild. In the end, thanks to the constant , more and more ubiquitous, jarring reminders of what Everquest now is, I can no longer even
pretend I am "living" in the world of Norrath where there was once a struggle between the rightful King and those who would overthrow him, between right and wrong, between good and evil.
I am sorry to sound so negative. I do not want to damage the image that others may still be able to preserve. More power to them if they can! It is just that I can't anymore.
If there is one thing that has made Norrath a pleasure to visit, it is the series of friendships made. That extends to everyone here, but I will name in particular Licinia's longest living friend, Stormfollower; her dear sister of spirit and compassion, Elianeth (and the Sprite!), and the always determined, always positive Jetamio. And until Licinia turns in her Investigator's Badge, there are still people for her to help.
for the majority player base. Which kind of explains the way they are leading the game design.
